Shrub willow as a bioenergy crop
Renewable energy demand and consumption is at an all-time high in the United States......»»
Diversifying crop fields reduces pest abundance, study finds
Intercropping—the practice of planting mixtures of crops—can be an effective pest management tool worldwide, a new University of Florida study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology shows......»»
Understanding inflorescence architecture in woodland strawberry provides tools for crop improvement
Flowers in plants are typically arranged into branched clusters called inflorescences. As flowers produce the seeds and the fruits, inflorescence architecture—the level of branching as well as the final numbers of flowers in each branch—plays a c.....»»
Cell imaging could provide next step for developing synthetic photosynthesis
An unprecedented imaging analysis of cyanobacteria provided new insights into its structure and organization that could help synthetically replicate photosynthesis. This could have a range of biotechnological applications including in crop engineerin.....»»
Study determines optimum height for drones to fly and target desert locusts with biopesticide
A study has determined the optimum height for a drone to fly and target desert locusts with biopesticides in order for it be most effective as a tool to fight the devastating crop pest......»»
Greater duckweed shows metabolic flexibility during trophic transition
Duckweeds, a group of fast-growing aquatic plants, are good candidates for bioenergy production and CO2 capture because of their simple structure, fast growth rate and high starch content. At present, duckweed cultivation mainly focuses on a photoaut.....»»
Bees can help prove avocado crops are free of a pathogen that could be a barrier to Australia"s exports
Researchers at The University of Queensland and CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, have shown bees can help prove Australia's valuable avocado crop is free of a pathogen that could be a barrier to exports. The findings are published in the j.....»»
How Uber left Lyft in the dust
For years, Lyft positioned itself as the "nice guy" in the ride-hailing industry. It let rival Uber do most of the dirty work fighting regulators and the taxi industry to create a path for a new crop of companies to offer rides to customers through a.....»»
A wise tool for modifying microbes
A DNA editing tool adapted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists makes engineering microbes for everything from bioenergy production to plastics recycling easier and faster......»»
How Vietnam is trying to stop rice warming the planet
As a child, Dong Van Canh watched while the rice fields of Vietnam's Mekong Delta were set alight to make way for the next crop, blackening the sky and flooding the air with potent greenhouse gases......»»
Novel gene discovery points way to better alkaline tolerance in crops
Chinese scientists have identified a key gene involved in crop alkaline tolerance that may greatly improve crop yield in sodic environments through the use of genetic engineering......»»
New soil sensor may improve efficiency of crop fertilization
Measuring temperature and nitrogen levels in soil is important for agriculture systems but detecting them apart from one another is difficult to do. Huanyu "Larry" Cheng, James L. Henderson, Jr. Memorial Associate Professor of Engineering Science and.....»»
The Willow Arctic oil drilling project—the latest battle in a long fight over Alaska"s North Slope
For more than six decades, Alaska's North Slope has been a focus of intense controversy over oil development and wilderness protection, with no end in sight. Willow field, a 600-million-barrel, US$8 billion oil project recently approved by the Biden.....»»
What do we define as urban green space?
When do we define a piece of nature in the city as a park? And when is something a tree or shrub? It may seem obvious, but in scientific literature the definitions vary quite a bit. That makes comparisons difficult. Environmental scientist Joeri Morp.....»»
Integrated grafting system developed for passion fruit plantlets
Passion fruit has become an important fruit crop in Taiwan and Southeast Asia due to its special taste and nutrient-rich flesh. However, it is seriously harmed by viruses, blight, and brown spot diseases. As a result of virus disease, producers have.....»»
Could AI-powered object recognition technology help solve wheat disease?
A new University of Illinois project is using advanced object recognition technology to keep toxin-contaminated wheat kernels out of the food supply and to help researchers make wheat more resistant to fusarium head blight, or scab disease, the crop'.....»»
Sequencing the genome of a newly discovered soybean pest
University of Minnesota students conducted crucial genome sequencing for the newly discovered soybean gall midge—a pest that is threatening the soybean crop, one of the most widely cultivated and consumed throughout the world. This small fly has be.....»»
Using a standard RGB camera and AI to obtain vegetation data
Aerial imagery is a valuable component of precision agriculture, providing farmers with important information about crop health and yield. Images are typically obtained with an expensive multispectral camera attached to a drone. But a new study from.....»»
Researchers examine drought resistance traits in beans using hyperspectral remote sensing
Crops adapt to climatic and environmental changes by exhibiting certain modified biological traits. For instance, plants growing in deserts exhibit drought resistance. However, at times, plant breeding becomes necessary to ensure optimal crop yields,.....»»
Eyes in the sky: Using drones to assess the severity of crop diseases
Rice is one of the most important crops in the world and constitutes the primary food source for over half of Earth's population. Protecting rice plantations from disease is therefore an essential endeavor in modern agriculture. Of the many pathogens.....»»
Drones and deep learning: Researchers develop a new technique to quantify rice production
Rice, a major food crop, is cultivated on nearly 162 million hectares of land worldwide. One of the most commonly used methods to quantify rice production is rice plant counting. This technique is used to estimate yield, diagnose growth, and assess l.....»»